scroungetech

So I'm only car lite, not car free, and I lurk here more than I post. Yesterday my high-temp warning light came on & there was smoke coming from under the hood. I was only 2 blocks from home, and added coolant after I parked. My commute is only 3.5 miles, but my car was smoking again when I got to work this morning. I had a car load of unnecessary posessions I was intending to drop off at Goodwill on the way home, which is why I drove today. I ended up dropping off the car-which was originally a freebie from my late grandma-at the repair shop next to work.

In the interim before they called me with a diagnosis, I started thinking about what I would do if the repair bill estimate was exorbitant. And I immediately knew I would junk it & not replace it. I had the whole morning at work to figure out my car-free life. But, when they called to say the repair was only going to cost about 2.5 days wages I chickened out and told them to go ahead & do it.

But I was briefly forlorn about the fact that my 17yo 109k mi beater was not dead for good.

It feels a bit like getting up the nerve to ask a stranger to dance, this teetering on the edge between car-lite and car-free. But I am now sure that the car will indeed be junked & not replaced the next time an exorbitant repair is looming. It kinda felt like sticking one toe in the car-free pool today, and I liked it. I'm now mentally better prepared to take the plunge when the time comes.

Walter S

Then sell it while it's still running.

I-Like-To-Bike

What was the problem, a split hose? Have you been having issues with this car?

What makes your car a "beater"? 109K miles isn't much though at 17 years, replacement of hoses and belts is probably in order.

scroungetech

It needs a new hose & a new radiater-it dropped all the coolant before, about 3 yrs ago. The thing is, I've been told by multiple mechanics that the engine will go another 10 years. But I could use the savings of not having it to pay off my student loans faster. Not to mention that everything I need is in walk or bike distance & the car mostly takes me places I don't really need to go. And I'd be in better shape physically without it. The "beater" status is mostly cosmetic wear & tear- not mechanical. I can count at least 6 friends that get along just fine without cars, and I would definitely not feel socially isolated without it. I live in a smallish city of about 60k that is having an upswing in the business cycle but is also close to farm land. There is no shortage of weekend events & lots of farmers markets. I know the car free switch is completely possible, just gotta get up the gumption to do it.

CliffordK

You can always drop the car off at Goodwill too.

no1mad 

If you have your own private parking space or basically anywhere you don't have to move it on a consistent basis to avoid being fined/towed, then just park it. Drop the insurance and 'black tag' it.

Of course, if you let it sit too long, the tires could dry rot (did on my Jeep- but they were OEMs and I had bought it used).

prathmann

The OP sounds very similar to my situation a few months ago. About the only time I drive is to get to either bike rides or hikes where the starting point is too far to conveniently bike. The last couple hikes to which I drove I noticed steam coming from under the hood and had to keep topping off the overflow tank. But online car parts have become so cheap that it's hard to justify getting rid of the car. Paid Amazon $27 and now have a new radiator plus cap and no more loss of coolant. Yes, there's still the insurance cost, but it's well under a dollar/day so I still feel it's worth the convenience of having the car available even though it's not really needed and isn't used all that much.

dksix

You bought a radiator for $27? What kind of car?

jon c. 

A lot of components tend to go bad when a car sits too long. Classics are drained, lubed in appropriate places and put on blocks when stored. For an average car in my experience, you're better off selling it while it's running as it may not still be running after it sits for a long period.

Roody

Exactly what I was thinking.

prathmann

'97 Toyota Camry. It was on sale but was a perfect drop-in fit and looked to be well made.

Roody

So why don't you get rid of that POS? It sounds like you don't need it, and you wouldn't have written to a carfree forum unless you want people to tell you to lose it!

scroungetech

Right you are, Roody. I did indeed stop by the car free chapel to hear the choir sing to my as yet unconverted self. And I do appreciate the positive reinforcement from everyone here. In other news I just negotiated a 4 day work week instead of the usual 5. This means 3 day weekends & more time to ride, now through at least the end of the year. And not by doing 4 ten hr days, but just 32 hrs/wk. Voluntary simplicity ahoy!

Roody

Good for you! You have fewer commutes with a shorter week, which should make it even easier to give up the car if you have a long commute.

I have 12 hour shifts at the hospital. That means four days off each week. That's pretty sweet even though I have only a ten minute walking commute.

scroungetech

Thanks for your thoughts. My commute is only 3.3 miles each way, though I can dip into Amish country backroads on my 7.5 mile long way home. The oldest continually operating farmer's mkt is a 5 min ride & the bike co-op is a 10 min ride. The only further flung destination I'm still figuring out is a quarterly Dr. appt way out in the suburbs & on no bus line. Though I could rack the bike on the front of the bus & then ride the last few miles. I'm putting together a cost analysis of keeping car vs ditching car, which I could eventually post here if anyone is interested...